


Weird Autumn

by LindirsArchives



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Autumn, First Meetings, Gen, Inspired by Night In the Woods, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:01:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28139604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LindirsArchives/pseuds/LindirsArchives
Summary: "Some people have one way and that's how they stay.Some people find one life and they live that way."He only knew him for a few seasons before he went away
Relationships: Bard the Bowman & Thranduil, Bard the Bowman/Thranduil
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Weird Autumn

**Author's Note:**

> My first Hobbit fanfic that I properly wrote. I wrote this during my semester exams to help me focus on my screenwriting exam and thought I should finish it, so don't mind it if it's THAT shitty. It's my first time writing for a fandom that I've been in for a year now, wrote this at 3 am so the plot is raunchy at best. Thank you for stopping by!

_**Hey man, have you seen him around? Have you seen him today?** _  
_**Weird autumn** _  
_**Weird autumn** _  
**_I only knew him a week before he went away_ **

Autumn was weird in a way, it has its mystery and its charm, though he never got around why he felt autumn was full of unsolved mysteries and untouched legends, of ghosts and other nightmare beings. Even so, autumn was the season when he met _him_ so he guessed some oddities come in every shapes and sizes. And apparently, this one oddity came in the form of an elf king

Bard had been loading the barrels that floated down the lake from the elves, the transition from the cool of autumn breeze to the coldness of winter chills made him shiver even more than he liked. Another oddity of sorts, he noticed, was that every first and last day of autumn, an elf would be amongst the trees, watching him intently with no malicious matters but even then it made his spine shiver slightly at the feeling of a strong gaze upon him. The elf first appeared two winters before. The first time Bard didn't really notice and didn't care, the second time, Bard started to notice and started to care about the eyes that linger on him whenever he did something. He tried to observe to see if the elf might come back in spring, but to no avail, as the elf only appeared on autumn only. He became hyperaware of the silent eyes watching him

That was until he had enough and the gaze was making him a tad bit too uncomfortable

"I know you're there! Why don't you step into the light?" The elf didn't move, his (or at least, he assumed he's a he, it's difficult to tell with elves) expression remained indifferent but his head tilted to the side slightly like a curious bird. After a few seconds, the elf finally decided to move from the darkness and Bard could finally see him (he IS a he, the masculine build gave it away) better in the light

Something about the elf intrigued Bard to no end. He's tall, taller than Bard, as most elves are, his shoulders broad, his long blonde hair that seemed to shimmer in the sunlight, the eternal youth of his facial features yet the sharp ice cold blue eyes that held thousands of years of memories gave it away, the ridiculously thick eyebrows that seemed to be transfixed in a focused manner, and the usual dark green and brown simple tunic and pants that Bard usually saw some of the elven warriors wear.

His expression was stoic and cold, like every other elves he's met, but he could see one of the pointed ears twitching like how the neighbour cat's ears would. He heard somewhere it meant something but he never remembered what-

Why was he suddenly so fixated in cracking this stranger elf down?

Weird

"Fancy meeting you here" The elf said nothing and instead tilted his head once again in curiosity. He couldn't understand him? Or was he just being a royal pompous ass and ignoring him? Bard thought it was the latter, seemed more befitting. And only 5 seconds of properly seeing this elf and he hated him already. Bard sighed, well this is stupid, but Bard's a gentleman so he would try and strike up a conversation with this creature, that and because Bard really didn't want to work in awkward silence all day

"It's odd seeing an elf roam around these parts, usually your kind would rather not get mixed with mortal business. I'm curious to see why that's not the case for you" Silence came from the elf as he (he's still 90% sure he's a he) observed the man seemingly talking to himself. The elf seemed... Slightly amused as Bard kept trying to strike up a conversation _like a decent man_. The elf seemed to have sensed his misery after a few minutes though, as he moved with ethereal grace and sat himself onto one of the empty barrels as if he weighed nothing, one leg folded. Then he actually talked

"I just happen to be around" Now that peaked Bard's interest, hearing the elf finally say something instead of having a monologue with himself. Bard raised a curious eyebrow as he continued to load more barrels in

"So it's all a matter of coincidence, then?" Bard wanted to fish the information from him, but he also expected another long silence. Fortunately, the elf continued talking

"You could say that, yes"

"I saw you a few moons ago, and last autumn, and the autumn before that"

"So you did, but you didn't seemed to care much"

"I wanted to see if what I saw was true"

"And it is. As far as I can tell, I'm as real as yourself" Something about the elf's answers in the form of snides and sarcastic remarks made something boil in Bard, but he wanted to know more, his curiosity got the better of his annoyance

"Why? Why come back every autumn?" The elf hummed, which sounded so patronizing in Bard's ears, what with his smirk and everything. The bargeman hated this elf, but something about him intrigued him more

"I guess you could say I was curious to see mortal life up close, unfortunately the season of the falling leaves is the only times I could wander in my own curiosity for once" _S_ _o he's busy,_ that was what Bard caught, _and he wanted to learn more about mortal life,_ which is odd but he guessed made some sense? He's not sure anymore

"I see... Well, I can't exactly say my life would be interesting enough for you to sate that need for answers" The elf chuckled. _He actually chuckled._ If Bard could show it then and there, he would've choked by that revelation

"Trust me, bargeman, your life is interesting enough as it is"

_That's vague..._

With that, silence fell, but this time no longer awkward, and Bard weirdly felt comfortable around the elf. Sure, he'd appear behind him suddenly or block his way both intentionally or unintentionally, but he felt something odd whenever he's around him, like he could turn his back on him and still felt safe even with the visible twin blade strapped on both sides of his hips. Bard felt safer

As he was done with loading in the barrels, he didn't realize when he sat himself beside the elf who had taken the barge as a better sitting place than the barrel and they both indulge in some tales and back and forth bantering. As nighttime drew near, Bard took a good look on the elf as a signal to run back because he needed to go back to his children. The elf didn't seem responsive and instead raised an eyebrow. Bard sighed, why did he thought that would work?

"You have to go, the night is upon us and I have my children waiting for me back home" That seemed to catch his companion's interest as he perked up and Bard could've sworn his pointed ears moved upward a bit like a surprised animal

"You have children, bargeman?"

"That I do, 2 daughters and a son" He didn't know why he was telling him all of this information, but he didn't mind. Some part of his mind wanted to tell him, wanted to take an emotional solitude alongside his companion, which kind of scared him and comforted him at the same time, to be able to have someone he could tell his burdens to

"You mention only your children are waiting for you. What of your wife? Does she not anticipate for you to come home?" Ah, of course it would go to that territory, of course it would. He wanted to run from the question, as even the thought of her brought a familiar ache to his heart. Bard sighed, no point in turning back now

"Died in labour" Something in the elf's expression softened, from cold curiosity to some kind of understanding. Had he gone through the same?

"I'm sorry. My condolences" It sounded genuine, it felt genuine, which was surprising, he never thought of his companion as someone with a gentle heart and easy empathy, perhaps he judged too hard

"Thank you" Another stream of silence and nighttime was getting closer, but again, Bard's curiosity got the better of him

"What about you? Do you not have anyone waiting for you?" The elf seemed to respond with a small smile but a sorrowful look in his eyes

"A son. Though I doubt he would be waiting for me. He protects the woods as one of the warriors" The tone he used to talk about his son was soft and longing, full of pride and admiration. Bard tried to picture said son and couldn't help but smile at the thought, what kind of father would not be proud of their sons for achieving such a feat?

"And your wife?" Bard didn't know what kind of haze he was in but it came out automatically which somehow turned the longing smile of the elf to the sorrowful dimmed eyes, showing years getting older by the second

"Slain in battle" Ah. He should've guessed

"My condolences" Bard returned, genuine and actually feeling a sting in his chest by the thought of the lonely elf and his mourning eyes. He had heard of how elves would die of grief, and he couldn't imagine how this specific one could survive it

They fell silent, none of them knowing how to respond after the talk, everything forgotten as the bright orange skies turned to dark, only illuminated by the shine of the moon and the stars, watching the twinkling of the stars upon them

"The stars are beautiful tonight" The elf made a sound which Bard could only assume was a snort

"It is beautiful every night, bargeman. You just haven't been paying much attention to them" There it is again

Bargeman

"Bard" The elf perked up in interest at the mention of a name

"Pardon?"

"My name is Bard, not bargeman" There was another string of silence, the elf was considering, he could tell, before he finally declared

"Very well then, Bard" Another newfound closeness built upon them, and Bard felt his stomach tickling whenever he thought about the elf currently next to him

"I'm afraid we overdid our little meeting. I should be returning to my children then" The elf took the cue and stood up from the wooden foundation of the barge. He walked out and towards the darkness of the forest before him

"Farewell, Bard, I shall see you when the next autumn leaves fall" Before the elf could make his way towards the forest, Bard tried to stop him

"Wait!" The elf halted in his steps and turned back towards the barge

"Yes?"

"What is your name?" The elf considered something, a good 3 minutes spent on that consideration before he finally said something

"Thranduil" and with that, Bard watched the elf, Thranduil, disappear amongst the trees

_Thranduil_

The name stuck with Bard, labelling said name as a friend's. Somehow, the name sounded familiar, like something he should've known from the beginning, he didn't know what but he'd figure it out when the time comes

Autumn leaves passed by. The next autumn and the autumn after that, Thranduil came by as promised, offering companionship that soon grew to become friendship, offering conversation and insults at the same time, it made the days more bearable knowing someone was there to accompany him.

He'd tell him more about his children mostly, his routine sometimes, what had happened the past couple of seasons, the Master's abuse of power, the latter which made Thranduil growl in disgust and, honestly, it made Bard too just thinking about the disgusting pile of slob pretending to be a cheap knockoff of an actual leader.

In exchange, Thranduil would tell him the tales of his people, his son, sometimes about other Elven realms and things he had witnessed in the past, and it made Bard think hard about just how old this elf is, older than any of his great great great grandparents' ages combined. Then he'd tell tales that Bard knew were too secretive for some lowly warrior to know, was he a high ranked soldier? He'd have to ask it when the question comes around

One autumn, Thranduil came by, though only briefly, talked for awhile, insulted Bard sometimes, before deciding to leave earlier with another one of his vague message

"Watch yourself and your children, Bard, for danger lurks around everywhere and the darkness seems to grow stronger everyday"

"Wait, what do you mean? Is something going to happen?" There was tense silent between them, Bard turning more demanding, his heart started to race even faster just by the thought of his children possibly in danger

"You'll find out soon enough"

"Thranduil!" His tone turned more desperate than anything yet it didn't seem to faze the other that much

"Farewell and take care, Bard" And with that, the elf left him with his own device, his thoughts swirled and mixed together in a way that made his stomach churn and sick. He just hoped whatever Thranduil wanted to warn him would never come by

This autumn was weirder than he thought

* * *

He didn't know when he started longing for Thranduil until he noticed his disappearance. He had stopped showing up after his last few words to him, and it had been 2 winters ago. The forest grew darker and darker, its darkness beginning to creep out of the trees and into the outside world but seemed to stop at an invisible border. A tinge of fear crept up in his throat as the thought of his new friend came by. He hoped he's okay. He's aware that he's capable of defending himself, judging from the pair of blades always hanging from his waist, but Bard couldn't help himself

Two winters passed and Bard strangely still missed his friend and Thranduil has yet to appear again. The lake felt empty and lonely without his snarky companion to insult him whenever necessary

An old curiosity popped up as he was searching for books in the old library down the neighbourhood and found a book of elven legends, most of them he heard from Thranduil's tales. He was curious, and he was missing a friend, so Bard let his mind wander to the books and try to look up if any of them contained his friend's name just to remember him in some ways, or to have some sort of solace. There was a possibility, right? As far as he could tell, or observe, was that Thranduil was not a low ranking warrior, and if he was, he wouldn't be able to know or tell the things he told him before, of kings and their quarrels, of princesses and having claimed they were once close friends, it was too odd

When Bard was about to give up his search, he landed on a peculiar book, that tells the tale of the Elven realm of Doriath, or at least, the fall of it. It mentioned the name of Oropher, how he and his people travelled to Greenwood, and there it was

Thranduil, son of Oropher

Oropher was the previous king of Greenwood before he fell in battle, later the crown handed to his son

It hit Bard quickly as he recalled having heard of the name somewhere, being so familiar with it, then he realized why that was

He was the king of Mirkwood

He had just befriended the king of Mirkwood

He had insulted the king of Mirkwood on several occasions

Autumn was weird in a way, that's what Bard had discovered from his discovery of Thranduil's royalty status. Now he understood, the disappearance, the darkness creeping up the woods, the vague warnings, he understood. It left him frozen in his chair for a while, trying to process everything he just received. Bigger worry reappeared once again as he thought of Thranduil not appearing, risking his life for his people against the foretold darkness while still trying to maintain his role as a diplomatic leader. All Bard could do was sit and hope that his friend was okay

So weird, it remained

_**Sometimes you can't see someone** _  
_**Until they're gone** _  
_**But some people never stop** _  
_**They're always moving on** _

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment <3


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